The Banana King

How To Choose A Wood Router

How to choose a router might be a challenging task, whether you are an experienced or a beginner but we know the importance of having a router, the problem comes when choosing the best router to use, there are different types of routers available and therefore, this makes it harder when determining the best router for you.

Routers are classified into three groups:

Large routers

Mid-sized routers

Trim routers

It is important to note that with large and mid-sized routers, they have more variations, plunge as well as fixed base.

Large router– they are very heavy and also complicated to operate by hand, it would work perfectly when in a router table. These large routers’ motors are around 3 HP and are also designed in-order to be used with large bits which tend to increase panel bits, it is recommended for its variable speed motors as it anable one to reduce the speed as the bit size increase.

Mid-sized routers– they can be used for all purpose with motor size that ranges from 1-1/2 to 2-1/4 HP and therefore, can be used with a many bits. In addition to these, among other types of routers, they are versatile and also easy to use by hand or even when put on a table.

Tim routers-these are the smaller version of the router family, the size of their motors tend to be 1 HP or less. They are equipped with a collet sized ‘A inches and therefore can only be used with smaller bit which remove less wood at a time. They are also small in size, weigh less making it easier to be used by hand though they have insufficient power to enable one use them in a router table.

We have two types of base for routers: fixed and plunge base. With a fixed base router you will have to unlock a router’s base from the motor. That is, by adjusting the depth of the bit while securing the lock to fix the bit’s depth. The bases of fixed base routers’ are removable and this makes it easier when changing the bits. This kind if base is the perfect one when it comes to template work and also for beading.

But with plunge base router, it enables the motors to move both up and down together with the two guides. Since the motors are locked on the base, the depth of the bits will now be controlled by a level lock.

A plunge router is more important than a fixed based router because it allows the motors to increase the speed before it make a cut. You can reduce the bit into the stock hence enabling cuts to be made in the stock’s center. Cuts such as dadoes and mortises perform best with a plunge router because as you’ll reach a stopping point, the bit can be raised out of the cut.

Before you buy a router, it will be important to first acknowledge and identify the intended use of the router. By doing so, it will help in determining the type of router you will require, it would be important to know that buying a router that has a dual collets will ultimately expand the router’s use and it will also save you from buying another router in future. Things to consider while choosing the best router are; the size of collet, soft start of a router, its dust control-if it has a vacuum port for cleaning purposes, and lastly, its variable speed. Buy from a retailer that allows returns.